Columbus lawsuit against Norfolk Southern moves to STB

The Columbus lawsuit against Norfolk Southern was dismissed, as reported by WTVM. A federal judge ruled the dispute must go to the Surface Transportation Board. It cannot stay in state court.

How the downtown railyard dispute reached federal court?

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit Columbus Consolidated Government brought against Norfolk Southern Corporation. The case centers on disputed railroad property in the heart of the city.

Judge Clay D. Land issued the order on March 25. He said federal law bars Columbus from pursuing those claims in state court. Meanwhile, he ruled the city must take its case to the federal Surface Transportation Board.

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Columbus sued in August, as WTVM reported when the case was filed. The city argued that Norfolk Southern was occupying city property. It said Norfolk Southern was using the railroad for its own non-public services.

According to the complaint, the arrangement between Columbus and the railroad traces to the 1840s. The city said the property was leased to the railyard under certain conditions. Also, it said the property should have returned to Columbus once those terms were broken.

“We would love to have an opportunity to sit down and have some meaningful discussions with the railroad about the future use of that property. Right now, we feel like they are on property that we have title to,” Mayor Skip Henderson said when the lawsuit was filed.

Columbus lawsuit against Norfolk Southern and the old property agreement

The city said Columbus leaders approved the request on the condition of a passenger depot. The depot was for the citizens of Columbus.

Also, Henderson said the railroad ceased passenger services in Columbus. He said the depots were sold or demolished. At the same time, the railroads remained on the property. They used it for their own non-public purposes.

The case began in Muscogee County Superior Court. Columbus asserted state law claims there. For example, those claims included continuing trespass, injunction, ejectment and nuisance. Separately, the railroad companies removed the matter to federal court.

Surface Transportation Board and the railroad property claims

Land found that the ICC Termination Act of 1995 completely preempts those state law claims. In addition, he said the Surface Transportation Board has exclusive jurisdiction over railroad transportation matters. That jurisdiction includes abandonment of railroad property.

“If Columbus were to succeed on its state law claims, it would be able to cause a cessation of rail transportation,” Land wrote. “Cessation of such operations is the ultimate regulation of rail transportation.”

The judge dismissed the complaint without prejudice. That leaves Columbus free to file an adverse abandonment claim with the Surface Transportation Board. It can also pursue state law claims that are not preempted.

Still, Land noted that the outcome may not seem fair on the surface. He said the railroads agreed long ago to return the property to the city. That would happen if certain conditions were met.

“But upon deeper reflection, it must be recognized that the people of the United States, through their elected representatives in Congress, have decided that the uniform regulation of railroads is sufficiently important that the displacement of rail operations should be handled exclusively through federal, not state, channels,” Land wrote.

The court order can be found here.

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